Kellys Directory Extract 1915 Bradford-On-Avon
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Kellys Directory Extract 1915 Bradford-on-Avon BRADFORD-ON-AVON is a parish and union town, situated on the Somersetshire border, on the river Avon and on the Kennet and Avon canal, with a station on the Salisbury, Weymouth and Bath branch of the Great Western railway, 102 miles from London by road and 100 by railway, 8 south-east from Bath, 3 north-west from Trowbridge, 5 south- west from Melksham, 12 west from Devizes and 12 north from Warminster, in the Western division of the county, hundred and petty sessional division of Bradford, rural deanery of Potterne (Bradford portion), archdeaconry of Wilts and diocese of Salisbury. The town is built within a recess, on the abrupt declivities of the sides of a rocky hill, and the most ancient parts are laid out in a succession of terraces, rising one above another to the very summit of the hill, from one which, called Tory Rank, the views are very picturesque, and the prospect is extensive and delightfully varied; in the valley below stands the fine old parish church; near to its base, after emerging from between the hills, flows the river Avon, its banks dotted with factories: on the west, and under the side of Grip Hill, is an ancient barn, formerly belonging to the “Grange” or principal farm of the Abbess of Shaftesbury, and possessing one of the finest timbered roofs in the country: on the east is the greater portion of the town, while in the middle distance may be seen the village of Hilperton and the town of Trowbridge, with Westbury Down and the Wiltshire hills in the distance. Bradford means the “broad ford” over the river, and was inhabited as early as the time of the Roman occupation of this part of the country. The town was a place of some consequence even in the time of the West Saxons, being the site of a monastic house, founded by St Aldhelm in 705, and given to the nunnery at Shaftesbury in 1001. In 954 St Dunstan was elected Bishop of Worcester at a synod held at Bradford: the town was privileged to send members to Parliament, but this right was not exercised more than once: a portion of the town still bears the appellation of the Borough of Bradford, but whether it was ever incorporated and had separate jurisdiction seems to be unknown. The river Avon is here crossed by two bridges, and on one of these, in the centre of the town, is a stone building with a square domical roof, once a chapel, where pilgrims offered at once devotions and alms. Near this, to the west, is the ancient ford by which the town was approached. The other bridge, called Barton Bridge, is lower down the stream, and has four arches. Bradford is considered to be a very pleasing, exceedingly picturesque and very healthy town, and is well defended from the north and east winds: the houses are mostly gable-fronted, built with stone, and roofed with the same material. The streets are generally narrow and irregular, but, in some instances, they have been widened and improved. In 1834 the town was lighted with gas by a company, and on 15th of July 1839, the “Bradford Town Improvement Act” received the Royal Assent, but the commissioners appointed under this Act have been superseded under the “Local Government Act 1894” by an Urban District Council. In 1902 the Bradford Gas Act was passed, conferring parliamentary powers upon the present company. Waterworks, the property of the Council, were erected in 1883: the adits, situated at Avoncliff, yield a copious supply of pure spring water, which is pumped thence into a reservoir at the top of the hill between Winsley and Bradford; additional adits have since been driven, and the present supply thereby considerably augmented. An extra filter bed has also been constructed, and the receiving tank enlarged: the town is supplied by gravitation: the cost of the works, opened in October 1883, was £12,000. In 1907 a new Sewerage and Sewerage Disposal Scheme was carried out. The church of the Holy Trinity is an ancient edifice in the Norman and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of five bays, north aisle, chapel, south porch and an embattled western tower, with a low spire, containing a clock, 8 bells and chimes: on two of the ancient tombs are the mutilated recumbent figure of a knight in armour, and on the north side a full-length effigy of a lady: there are brasses to the Deverell, Yewe, Shrapnel, Clutterbuck and Horton families: the east window and several others are stained: in 1893 a dwarf stone screen, with wrought iron entrance gates, separating the chancel from the nave, was erected in memory of the Rev Baldwin Francis Leighton ©Wiltshire OPC Project/2014/Eileen Barnett BA sometime hon. Curate: there are sittings for 637 persons: in the churchyard is another ancient tomb. The register dates from the year 1565. The living is a vicarage, net income £284, with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, and held since 1914 by the Rev Albert Thomas Richardson MA of Hertford College, Oxford. Christ Church is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1843; the church, at Bearfield, erected in 1841, is in the Perpendicular style, consisting of a chancel, nave, south porch and a western tower with spire containing one bell: the chancel was added in 1878 from designs by the late Sir G Gilbert Scott RA at a cost of £2,000: the east window and nine others are stained: in 1884 the church was reseated, under the direction of Mr John Oldrid Scott, architect: an oak screen, separating the chancel from the nave, and an organ chamber were erected in 1891: two oak side screens were added in 1909, the gift of Canon the Hon S Meade: there are 450 sittings. The register dates from the year 1842. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £290, with residence, in the gift of the vicar of Bradford, and held since 1908 by the Rev Wyndham Noel BA of Exeter College, Oxford. There are three Baptist chapels, including one for Zion Baptists, Congregational and Wesleyan chapels, and a Wesleyan chapel at Bradford Leigh. A cemetery of 4a. 2r. 8p. in the Holt road, was formed in 1856 at a cost of £3,000; it has two mortuary chapels, and is under the control of a joint committee. The Technical Institute, in Junction road, erected in 1896 at a cost of £4,000, is a building of stone, comprising physical and chemical laboratories, art room, manual instruction room and a room for instruction in cookery and domestic economy; John Crompton MA principal. A large and fully equipped gymnasium was presented in 1901 by Lord Fitzmaurice, who had been the principal contributor to the institute. The Town Hall is of Bath stone, in the Elizabethan style, from designs by Thomas Fuller esq. architect, late of Bath; it includes a magistrate’s room, customs and excise office, and dwellings for the police. The county court, petty sessions, and meetings of Guardians and Rural District Council are held here. The Urban District Council’s offices are at Westbury House. The Public Baths, in Bridge street, erected in 1898 at a cost of about £1,200 are under the control of the Urban District Council. The Temperance Hall in Sladesbrook, erected in 1845, will hold 200 persons. The Urban District Fire Brigade consists of a captain and 11 members, with a manual engine. Messrs George Spencer Moulton and Co Ltd also have a fire brigade consisting of workmen of the firm. Bradford was at one time the central town in the west of England for the manufacture of superfine broadcloths. This business is known to have been carried on here to some extent in the time of Edward I, and Edward III invited clothworkers to repair to England out of foreign parts, to whom he granted sundry privileges. Anthony Methuen, the ancestor of the present Lord Methuen, of Corsham House, was the first to improve upon the old mode of cloth-making by introducing into Bradford, in 1740, operatives from Flanders. The industry has now completely died out and the manufacture of india rubber tyres and india rubber goods generally is gradually becoming the staple trade of the town. There are also two banks, two breweries and two foundries, and several quarries from which good building stone is obtained. The Right Hon Sir Richard Bethell kt. PC afterwards Lord Westbury and Lord Chancellor, was born at Westbury House, in St Margaret street, 30th June 1800. In the Frome road are two almshouses, one of which for four poor men, was founded in 1700 by John Hall esq. whose arms, crest and motto “Deo et pauperibus” appear over the doorway: this building was entirely restored in 1891-3 by the late H Moulton esq. who, by his will, further endowed it with a sum of £1,000: each inmate receives 5s per week. The other almshouse, for poor old women, was rebuilt in 1868 from designs by C S Adye esq. architect, and added to in 1878: this charity is endowed with lands once belonging to the monastery of Shaftesbury: the patronage is with the lord of the manor, and the building has been restored to its original size, and is occupied by four old women, receiving 4s weekly, but to those in receipt of the old age pension this amount is reduced to 2s. the charities for distribution amount to £64 8s.